Wordy Wednesday

Using my phone to take photos of J at a birthday party on Saturday didn’t work too well – he barely ever sat still long enough for me to take a picture!

This photo is significant because until Saturday J had always avoided getting on inflatables, saying they were scary. We talked a little in the car on the way to the party – I told him it was ok to be scared, but that if he was brave and tried it, he might end up liking it. Once we got there and he saw all his friends, he saw them playing and having fun. He was tentative at first, but by the end of the party he’d forgotten all about being scared, and had a blast with his friends!

Yesterday at the boys’ school they had the chance to ride horses – this is something the school does every year and the kids all LOVE it! J rode one last year, but this was C’s first experience with it.

J’s class was first – I arrived just in time to see him climb on to the horse, and he loved every minute of it!

When C’s class came outside, he yelled, “Horsies!” and I was sure he was going to love the experience just as much as his big brother did.

Nope, not so much. He didn’t want to get on, or even touch, the horse. We settled on sitting together to watch the other kids take their turns – he really wanted to run around, but was stuck sitting there with me. Perfect photo op, right?

You can just see the joy on his face. :)

All in all, though, it was a really fun morning with my little cowboys!

Since I’ve decided there are enough memes out there, I have started just linking up my Wordy Wednesday posts with Wordless Wednesday memes. I’m such a rebel, huh?

I got into the shower this weekend and found a message waiting for me, courtesy of Brian.

Totally better than a bouquet of flowers, I think.

My “love language” is Words of Affirmation, according to the book Five Love Languages. That means that I feel most loved when I hear that I am loved or appreciated.

Brian and I read this book early on in our marriage, and it was a great eye opener for us. I had never really thought about the fact that what made me feel loved might not really work for Brian – the quiz revealed that his “love language” is Quality Time. Spending time together playing a board game or cooking dinner makes him feel the most loved.

If you haven’t read the book, there’s a short one-question quiz here to get a general idea of what your love language might be. I’m curious to know – what makes you feel the most loved? What’s your love language? Do you think your spouse’s love language differs from yours?

I’ve decided not to do a linky with Wordy Wednesday… there are already a million link-ups on Wednesdays. If you participate, or would like to share your Wordless Wednesday post, comment with a link below and I’ll go give you a visit and some comment love!

If you know me, then you know that it’s a big deal for us to have a store-bought cake for a birthday. Brian and I have made cakes together for years and always have a blast doing something creative. This year, though, we had breakfast for dinner and Brian just wanted muffins for dessert to go along with the theme.

This didn’t sit well with J. “But what kind of birthday is Dad going to have?” he asked. He was further distressed when we said we weren’t having a party, that we were going to just celebrate with the four of us.

“Nooo, I think Dad needs a party,” J said. “Maybe Star Wars, you know, with R2D2 and C33333O.”

Then he paused for a minute.

“You know what? I think I might want that for my birthday. I think Dad really wants a dinosaur party with a dinosaur cake.”

I told him we wouldn’t be able to have a party but that we could have a cake. By this time, our week was one of THOSE weeks and I was too tired to even think about making and decorating a cake, so we went off to the grocery store.

No dinosaur cakes in sight. Uh oh! For some reason I had assumed that would be a common cake theme. J was very disappointed, but the lady behind the counter was wonderful and said she could turn one of the “plain” cakes into a dinosaur one for us. Then she promptly stuck two little dinosaur figures in the icing and called it done.

One dinosaur was too tall for the lid, so it got smooshed down into the cake a little. Maybe he was sinking into a tar pit or something. All I know is it made one little boy very happy. The woman asked what we wanted it to say and J chimed out, “Happy Birthday DAD!” and then we were all set to go.

We took the cake home to celebrate with some friends, where two tiny pieces were eaten. J was very proud that Brian got the dinosaur birthday he “needed”, so I guess it was worth the $10.

If you read my blog last week, you saw my first installment of Wordy Wednesday. I had initially planned to use this just for myself, but my mom suggested I try adding a link-up just in case other people want to give it a try. So, while I’m fully prepared for her to be the only name on the list :) I’d love for you to join in – if not this week, maybe the next!

Wordy Wednesday is pretty simple. Post a photo, but instead of leaving readers to wonder what the back story is, talk about what’s going on in the photo, or tell a story that’s related somehow (or not – being random is fine! Just be sure & share something you think your readers would be interested in). Pretend you’re gabbing with a friend!

Speaking of gabbing, here are my photos for the week:

As you can tell, when my family goes to Target, we don’t just shop. The boys love going to Target (which may be a testament to how little there is to do in our city, or how, ahem, boring we are) and I have to admit it’s a fairly common occurrence. We have a route – yes, a set path we take almost every time we go, strategically planned to start with what we want to look at and end with toys & then books. Sometimes we get an ICEE & popcorn, which the boys think is a huge treat. We love it because they’re in better moods and we’re able to meander through the store without worrying (as much) about a breakdown.

When we go, we usually have a shopping list but we also always check out the various clearance spots throughout the store. Brian used to not really care about it but ever since he found this bargain he’s been hooked. We’ve found a GeoTrax train set for $9.99 that usually retailed (and did again the following Christmas) for $39.99, and I’ve been sucked into buying a few kitchen gadgets I didn’t really need every once in a while.

Even if going to Target for a family outing is a little less-than-exciting, we always have fun browsing the clothes, toys, and electronics. And maybe trying things on every once in a while, too.

Before I sign out, I have to share a quote from J that just took place a little before writing this post. Random, I know… that’s why I threw that part in about randomness being ok – I’m the queen of random.

Brian and I take turns sitting with the boys a little after they get in bed. Ever since I was sick with the flu, J has especially favored Brian. I’ll admit my mom ego took a little beating, but I’m hanging in there. Well, tonight Brian was busy so I sat with the boys for a little bit. J said, “Mom, I really want Dad in here,” so I asked him why. He said, “I just like Daddy better than I like you.” OUCH! I tried not to react but I guess he figured out that wasn’t the best thing to say, so he quickly added, “I mean, I like you too. You’re nice and cute. I just like Dad better.” Niiiiiice.

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Ok, it’s your turn! If you feel like being a little wordy and/or a little random this week, write your post and link up below. If you want to host the link up too, just go here to get the code. The list will be open until midnight on Wednesday. Have a great week, everyone!

I’ve given up the pretense that I can do the whole “Wordless Wednesday” thing. The appeal is definitely there; some days it’s hard to come up with anything to write about. But if I share a photo with you, I almost always feel the need to explain it somehow. So, welcome to Wordy Wednesday. I’ll always include a photo or two along with some daily ramblings that may or may not be related to the aforementioned photos, depending on how random I’m feeling that day.

The photos I’m sharing today are from our most recent trip to the grocery store. If you’ve ever gone grocery shopping with small children then you’ll appreciate the miraculous nature of these pics.

We usually go shopping as a family – we shop at HEB & the boys think it’s a lot of fun to go (they usually get a free homemade tortilla and a free cookie – what’s not to love about that?) plus Brian and I like picking out ingredients together.

The carts at HEB are wide and seat two, which is both awesome and annoying at the same time. The boys like to sit together, until about 10 minutes in, when the arguing over sides begins. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve had to create a dividing line with our arm to keep the peace.

We usually go shopping Sunday afternoons after the boys’ naptime, but this week we waited until after dinner – smartest move ever. The boys were full and content, and we made it through the whole outing with no fights. In fact, they were especially sweet with each other. We always try to encourage them to be kind to each other, and moments like this when it happens on its own feel like the foundation of the close friendship we hope they’ll have throughout their lives.

Here’s C loving on his big brother – he definitely looks up to him!

And here’s J giving C a hug. Notice that it resembles a headlock – that’s the “big brother” way of hugging, I’ve decided. I love C’s expression, though – it made his day to get that hug!

I love these boys!