BOO!!

Bikin'

Each morning, Sully and I head out to the cul-de-sac a block

over so that he can practice on his new bike.
Today, we were just a little bit distracted
by dirt!

Then the throwing of dirt clods began...
(Notice his adorable cowboy jacket. A birthday gift
from his Aunt Lisa.)

...and it wasn't long before Sully's cute little Levis were

covered with dust.

(I would guess that his pants were dirty approximately

4.3 seconds after I put them on him....)

Look! His feet are on the pedals!
Mostly he still does the Flintstone-thing
but today he spent much more time trying
to use the pedals. Yay!

I tried to capture a photo of Sully running away from me,
mad as hell that I wouldn't let him ram his bike into
a very nice car parked in the cul-de-sac...
...but he was running too fast and all I
could catch was a little brown blur.
Lol.

And, now that I know how to post videos,

here's one of Sullivan from back in May.

We All Just Want To Be Big Rockstars

Tonight I came home from work to find the following scenario: The Doors cranked super loud on the surround sound system, Keaton standing on top of the kitty condo with a broom held like it's a guitar, Sully standing on the couch with just one shoe on an dancing like mad, Mike dancing over by Sully...and both cats hiding up in the boys' room where it was nice & quiet. ;o)


I was changing out of my scrubs when I heard Mike tell the boys it was time to wind down and head upstairs to bed. Keaton, in his typical nature, resisted.


"But Dad," Keaton said "I just want to rock out!"


Lol.

Testing...1..2..3...

I'm just testing to see if I can even post a video.

Keats is about 3 here. He cracks me up!

Of Formatting

Okay, I've reached my limit of worrying about how the format of each post is presented to the viewing public.


I cannot get the paragraphs to cooperate.


So, please, just know that when I type them they are in proper format, with spaces & all of that.


I give up. Don't judge me too harshly. Lol.

Yes, I'm going to beat the kitty thing to death.

Wait. That sounds so wrong...

What I mean is, I'm probably going to be a tad obsessed with posting kitty pics for a while. I apologize in advance. =^..^=

Sometimes they are the only critters in the house that I can catch on camera...and I almost always have at least my cell phone camera in my hand, at the ready...

Here's Moose doing a thorough inspection of my face. He is such a face-kisser. Lol. It doesn't matter if I had cucumbers & hummus for dinner (as I did last night) or if we had chicken...he MUST inspect the face before bed. Inspect & kiss.

Black kitty, proving that cats really can sleep in any position.

I just love that total lack of concern about life. Don't you wish you could experience that comfort for a few minutes each day??

And, finally, we think his name may be Jett. My mom suggested it yesterday and we both like it...but haven't committed 100% to the name just yet...

What do you think? Moose & Jett....the new kids on the block. :o)

*also, please note the green paint on Jett's left whiskers...Things I Learned Yesterday: Never, ever paint with a kitten in the room. Even if you tell them to stay away, and they promise "cross my heart, hope to die, stick a thousand needles in my eye" they are going to get into the wet paint. Write that down in your Rules of Life. In ink. Just don't let the kitten see you writing or they'll come attack the pen...

R.I.P.

It is a sad, sad day here in the Moore household.

One of our very favorite toys died.

Our nesting boxes lived a good, long life and they supported many applications & endeavors by the Moore Boys. They were used as shoes, hats, robot shoes, bowls, occasionally a cup, more shoes, and as baskets to carry around other toys.

Keaton actually used to insist on eating his popcorn out of one of the large nesting boxes. ;o)

Keaton was given these nesting boxes just after his first birthday. I would guess that they were used, in some way or another, every single day since then.

Rarely were they used as intended, unless there was great excitement and anticipation of knocking down the tower of boxes, but they were definitely good tools for fostering imagination.

I don't know if replacing them is necessary but we'll sure miss them!

Like, totally

First thing this morning, Keaton starts telling me about something funny the kittens did last night. It involved getting into a drawer and then taking a swipe (but missing the intended victim) when Keaton peaked into the drawer.

After telling me about it, he said, "It was SO TOTALLY funny, Mom!"

Keaton doesn't call it scratching when a kitten claws him; he calls it crunching. As in: Don't crunch my arm, Moose! or The black kitten tried to crunch my face!

Moose was, um, cleaning his bottom and when Keaton noticed he got this HUGE smile on his face and said, "Awww, he's kissing himself! Little tiny kitty kisses!" The best part was that he said that last statement in a cute, high-pitched voice similar to what adults use to talk to babies. ;o)

Here, I was trying to get a picture of Sullivan without his binky in his mouth. He would say "Cheese!" but with the binky in. Finally, I asked, "Where is your mouth?" and he popped the binky out and, well, we got a good view of his tongue. ;o)

Who needs kitten toys? All we need is an REI bag and a couple of Legos. Add a second kitten and the dangling strap on a backpack and you have an all-day kitten party!

Name This Kitten

Please help us name this kitty!

We're stuck.

And it just feels wrong calling him "The Black Guy". Lol.

So far we've come up with a few names we like but nothing we totally agree upon:

------

~Jack-Jack (this is the baby in The Incredibles)

------

~Porter (as in the beer)

------

~Gus (don't know where Mike got this one)

------

~Bagheera (Mike hates this one but I think it rocks!

Bagheera is the panther in the Jungle Book.

My brilliant sis came up with this one)

------

~Neo (character from the Matrix...computer system in Matrix was there to keep humans around simply as tools for the computer system....sounds much like a cat keeps humans around just to sit on/rub on/feed them, etc.)

------

My current favs are Jack-Jack and Neo.

Mike's favorite is Gus.

------

Kitty is pure black & super shiny. Playful. Heavy-footed. Affectionate.

I would love a name that had something to do with panthers or something like that...

HELP!!!

Random Pics

Moose can sleep through anything.


Except, you know, the night. ;o)







Sullivan, showing off his impeccable table manners.


This is how he fed himself some of Daddy's birthday smoothie.


Again, showing of that famous Sully etiquette.


And...showed up at the table with his bike helmet. Again.





Keaton finally got the courage to pick up Moose and carry him around. This morning, Moose got up on the table and started drinking the milk out of Keaton's cereal bowl. I shooed Moose away and Keaton said "It's okay, Mama. Moose is my best friend."


Moose is, apparently, the Bathtime Safety Inspector.


As soon as the boys get out of the tub, Moose and Jack-Jack jump right in.

Of Squishiness

I recommend, very highly, that you not walk around my house in

brand-new $10 Smartwool socks.

My recent experience with this resulted in squished

strawberries and lettuce stuck to my sock.

Euw.

I suspect it may never be sock-safe around here.

Until Sully moves out.

Grumpy McGrumpsters

Today we headed down to Riverfront Park to meet up with friends and ride bikes. Keaton is home from school mostly because he threw a fit that he had to go...but he is also complaining of a sore throat (which I suspect is due to his
yelling this morning).



You can pretty much tell what Keats & Sully thought of it all by their close-ups. Grumpy boys. Especially Keats!

I'm pretty sure they are both fighting a bug. At least this is my excuse for why they are both so whiney & grumpy. ;o)

Sully got a new bike yesterday. We didn't have anything for him with pedals so he couldn't practice. We're hoping he'll be able to use Keaton's little bike next summer...but first he must learn to pedal! When Keaton was two & three we were members of an indoor park that had pedal-operated tractors. Keaton would get on them and just scream and yell that he was stuck and he'd push and get so frustrated but I never went over to help him...and then he figured it all out. That indoor park closed down so we don't have that option with Sullivan. So the new bike is a combo between a trike and a bigwheel and it has a handle on the back so we can push him if he needs help. There are also foot rests if he doesn't want to pedal at all.

He does a pretty good job of getting around although he doesn't pedal just yet. He puts his feet on the ground and does it Flintstone-style.

Here's Morgan helping Sully on his new bike. :o)

And here is Sullivan stealing a few minutes on Keaton's Spiderman scooter. He doesn't actually go anywhere, he simply stands on it and feels like he's getting away with something. Lol.

So here's the scoop on what's been going on in the last couple of days. Unfortunately I have no new pics to back up my stories. ;o)

1) Yesterday we celebrated Mike's birthday. I say "celebrate" but really we just gave him a couple of gifts and then we went out to dinner (sans children). Mike isn't one for parties. The boys gave Daddy two remote-controlled trucks. Mike & Keats drove them around the house for a while; Moose loved it, Jack ran off. It took a few hours for Jack to get over the stress of it. Soooo...the trucks are an outside-only toy from this point on.

2) One of the kittens (by feel I would guess it's Jack but Moose is also a suspect) is so desperately in love with me that he must continually show his affection once the sun goes down. Primarily once I just get to sleep. He purrs (loudly), rubs, snuggles, sniffs, cuddles, moves from my head to my feet to under the covers to on my back to....well, wherever he lands, I guess. Occassionally he needs to taste my toes. Just to see.

3) I'm pretty sure we're taking Keats down to two days a week at school. He's still refusing to go and we're thinking we shouldn't make school a bad thing so early in his education. Yesterday I found out that his class has about ten more kids each day than it did when he started. Maybe that is part of the problem?

4) I've given up and accepted that Sullivan may always say "Du Fyke" instead of "Thank You". My thoughts are that he is saying "you thank" but it comes out with his own special style. Du Fyke is actually pretty cute. So, if you hear these words coming out of Sully's mouth, say "You're Welcome!" :o)

5) Okay. Nothing else. Sully is going through the backpack (diaper bag) right now so I must go stop him. Remember to hide your purses, packs, and suitcases when Sully is around. He's a cross between a pickpocket and a purse-snatcher. Lol.

I know...it's been so long since I posted about this....

...but I took some really cute pics of the new kids today!! :o)

I have to explain the last pic. We couldn't find the kitties anywhere...until I looked under the recliner. This is what I saw: Moose's face and Jack Black's feet...they are under the seat of the recliner...just hanging there for a nap...too cute!

Kitties!!!

Meet the newest members of our family!

They are maybe six months old, not sure if they are siblings. Both are boys.

(I know, I know....wasn't I going to insist on a girl-kitty??)

Not real sure about names yet since they just moved in on Saturday evening...

This orange guy may be named
"Moose" but we'll have to wait and see if it fits him. He has a perfect "M" on his forhead so it would work in that respect. ;o) He's the most cuddly, mellow (but still has that incredible kitten-hyperness) kitten ever. He LOVES to give kisses. Yes, right on your face. He has an excellent, loud purr. He can jump higher than the lightswitch! Aerodynamic kitten.





This guy may be named
"Jack" as in Jack Black, the actor. But that may be too cheesy for me. ;o) He's super shiny and completely black except for about ten white hairs on his back and four on his chest. In this pic I can almost see some tabby stripes. He is the nighttime lover of the two. He wants to sleep on my head or at least very near my head and he stops by to purr and rub on my face now and then. He is maybe the more playful of the kittens. He can frequently be seen stalking his brother, doing that little wiggle-butt thing they do, and then runs and does a drive-by on him. This one has a cold right now so I'm giving him antibiotics...I suspect he may be even more playful as he begins to feel better.


The boys are all in love...it is so different than it was with Charlie. There's no stress. It's kind of cute to get woken up by a little snuggly kitten in the middle of the night. Keaton is home sick today and wanted to go outside to play; I told him to dress warmly and go ahead outside. Just then one of the kittens ran past him and Keats said, "Nevermind. I want to play with the kittens." Awww. Sully is just squealy and as happy as can be each time he glimpses one of the kittens.

Let the wild rumpus begin!

Still nothing too exciting going on. So I will indulge myself by posting yet more pictures of Sullivan being exceptionally cute.

This first pic shows Sully making the moves on Nora. Hmmm.... perhaps an arranged marriage can be worked out?? Lol.

And this picture is from today. Sullivan is saying "Shhhh. Daddy's working!" So cute.

The only other interesting thing that happened today is that we all went out to dinner at a restaurant that is inside a repurposed old house. So the decor is old tin signs, old paintings, old photos...that sort of thing. Right above our table was a picture of a lady getting ready to go skinny dipping. Let me tell you that Keaton thought this was the most hysterically funny thing he'd seen in ages. And that picture brought up all sorts of poop & pee & butt discussions. Throughout the entire meal. Seriously.

I feel terrible for the very-uptight family with very-controlled children who sat next to us. We were talking poop & pee and had wind-up robots walking across our table while their mom freaked out that one of the kids got his (red) sleeve in some ketchup.

I don't feel terrible that they were having to listen to us; I feel terrible that they were so obviously uptight & unfun. (is that a word?)

I think I'd rather have giggle-fests over a naked lady than an outing as uptight as our dining neighbors.

And why can't I get space between my paragraphs? I put them there but they don't show up on the final copy. I swear I have a relatively firm grasp on puncutation, spelling, grammar, and sentence structure. Relatively....

Nothing Going On...

Today is overcast and cool...which makes us want to stay inside to watch tv.

I did drag Sully into the backyard to move his body a little bit.

I love this sweater on him. It was Keaton's and seeing Sullivan in it, from across the yard, makes me think it's a

baby Keats. ;o)

His toddler swing broke but he's just ready to start on the big swings anyway...

See? He's a rock hound!

I love his little smiley face peeking through the playset!

Itty Bitty

Baby Nora was over here today and it is her first birthday. After she left, and Sullivan went down for a nap, I started going through his newborn pics. Just to reminisce.

Anyhoo, I found this picture and forgot how funny it is. This was Sully's first time in his swing...he was maybe four or five days old. It just cracks me up that you barely see him peeking out..and where are his legs? ;o)

Spider Bites

This morning, Keaton was peppering me with questions regarding spider bites.


"Does it hurt to get a spider bite?"


"Can I get a spider bite when I am sleeping?"


"Can a spider bite me when I'm playing on my swings?"


I asked him where all the spider-bite-related questions were coming from; his answer didn't surprise me in the least, though I did get a good laugh out of it.

He said, "Well, if I do get a spider bite I don't want to turn into Spiderman; I want a spider bite so I can turn into a Transformer!!"

WANTED!!

The Scooting Drum Bandit

(aka: Sully)

Height: 36 inches Weight: 31 pounds

-------------

Eyes: Blue, gigantic

------------

Hair: light brown, usually with streaks of

toothpaste (he uses it like hair gel),

oranges, and sometimes, like today, garlic hummus

------------

Can be seen sitting on his Fisher Price drum,

scooting around the house.

------------

Warning: Also known to use drum to

stand on to reach things on the counter.

Things such as knives, cell phones,

breakfast bars. You get the idea.

------------

May be carrying some sort of mouth-plug

and a filthy, filthy little giraffe known on the streets simply as "Baby"

------------

If you see the Scooting Drum Bandit:

Shout, "Sully, NO!!"

Because the odds are that he is getting

into something he shouldn't be getting into

;o)

The Loot

Here are pictures of the Tooth Fairy loot.


Keaton has a wonderful Tooth Fairy pillow that hangs from the door...


...what a good idea. The sound of coins being dropped into a jar would most likely give the whole gig away, huh?


Of course, I used paper money because I was truly terrified he'd catch me. He had such a hard time sleeping (from the excitement) and I had a suspicion that he was sleeping with one ear open. So to speak. ;o)



And the Bumblebee Transformer costume was a huge hit. I had to work but understand that Keats wore the costume for about 12 hours yesterday.


The funny thing about kids is that they forget things so quickly.


We ordered that costume online, he was right next to me as I bought it, but he didn't remember that. When the costume came we decided to wait to give it to him. The Tooth Fairy excuse seemed like a good one so we went with that.


And Keats is none-the-wiser.

...Now You Don't

...yeah, let's just say he's a tiny bit excited. Lol. The tooth came out while he was brushing his teeth, so right before bed, and he had a difficult time getting to sleep because he was so excited about the Tooth Fairy's impending visit....

Helmet Head

Here's how Sully presented to the dinner table last night.

All efforts to remove the helmet were denied by the wearer.

;o)