Breaking-in the Table

We tried coloring for the first time yesterday. It went well for a short time, which is pretty good considering they are just about 15 months and have an attention span of 15 seconds. It did end with several attempts at chewing crayons and ripping the paper into small pieces. At least the pictures seem to paint (no pun intended) a lovely experience.

Side note - people ask all the time now when we go out if E and O are twins. When I say "yes" people are shocked because they don't look the same. They are so confused that they just quickly walk away because they don't know how to reply. One lady at the grocery store today said, "My these two boys were born one right after the other" (giving me one of those looks like - slow down on the child birthing process). I just smiled and kept walking but really wanting to say, "Yes, dumbass they were born one right after the other because they are twins and I didn't birth them at the same time nor 9 months apart." But I took the high road. :)

Holy Busy Weekend Batman!

As Charlie alluded to in his latest blog posting, we had a busy, but enjoyable, weekend. Everyone is really tired from the sun adventures and at least three of the four Richfield Potts family members had a really relaxing, restful Monday.

The weekend began with a Friday adventure to the Peterson Farm in Cannon Falls. This was a brand new experience for Ethan and Owen (it had been awhile since I had a tour of the changes as well). E and O had a good time sitting on some tractors and meeting three big dogs. Ethan has no fear with animals while Owen acts very tough while in the hands of his mommy. After the farm adventures and weak nap attempt, we headed to Josh's baseball game in Burnsville. Josh did well behind the plate and the Northfield River Rats pulled out a come-from-behind victory!

Owen cheering for Uncle Josh.

On Saturday we headed out to watch Josh again (trying to make up for several games we missed this past season). The River Rats played a great game against a very chippy team. Josh ripped three singles between 3rd and short in an all-around studly game.

Even with the game in action Ethan chooses to read and study his flashcards.

Then rounding out the weekend, Charlie and I went for a long run in Northfield. The change of scenery was great and Charlie picked a fantastic route! It was a tough run but they are getting more manageable knowing we only have 2 more really big training runs before the marathon. After our run, we packed up for Richfield, rested and headed out to Eden Prairie for the Gustie picnic. We had a great time with Annie and Miles as well as the other Gusties.

With three tired, warm boys we came back to Oliver Ave to wrap up the night with a bath and stories. The boys had a blast showing Miles some of their new toys! Ethan was really excited to share the bath with someone other than his brother. Owen was really tired and not up for a bath so his tub time was quite short.

Three blond boys ready to bath.

Owen is trying to make his getaway and Miles might be noticing Owen's dirty side.

Two clean boys.

Nothing wraps up the night better than Brown Bear.

Crazy weekend but not too bad when its SUMMER!!

Owen had to tweet about his weekend too (or he is updating his etrade account)!

Trying to Fit In

The schmatte, burp rags, baby cloths - whatever you want to call them depending on your family - have been an important part of everyday play at the Potts's house. Both Ethan and Owen have taken a mattey to bed with them for the past two weeks. We also have several out in the living room for use during the day.

There are many uses for the schmatte - blanket, clean up rag, toy, vital peek-a-boo material, throwing object, and doo-rag. Ethan particularly enjoys putting the mattey around his shoulders or over his head (which often results in crawling head first into a wall). Owen particularly likes to snuggle the mattey when he starts to get tired. Their mommy enjoys using their matteys to make doo-rags for them. I am just trying to help them feel like they fit in with the Richfield crowd and possibly someday - the Richfield school children.

Pirate or Richfield Wannabe?

Stylish sag.

Owen telling Daddy, "Sup man, where my dinner at?"

Ethan is not impressed by Owen's new look and planning on not conforming.

Ethan's non-verbals seem to say, "Okay, shut off the camera Mom!"

Zoo!

Dear Grandma and Grandpa Dahl,

Thank you for a great day at the Como Zoo! We had a wonderful time and have never seen so many big animals! We have been retelling our experience to each other all afternoon. To better understand what we are explaining to one another we'll just recap the conversation.

Owen: Remember when we saw all those silly monkeys?

Ethan: We could have stared at the monkeys all day.

Owen: Yeah, there were so many of them. Big ones, small ones, hairy ones, hungry ones, and even little ones with fu-manchus!

Ethan: Yeah those were my favorite - feisty little guys! I thought it was funny when you started speaking monkey to this guy.

Owen: I would rather speak monkey to that guy then that scary gorilla statue!

Ethan: That turtle statue was even more frightening!

Owen: Remember when we saw the ducks and flamingos? They were your favorite!

Ethan: That one flamingo stood on one leg forever and his head was tucked down by his body. He was goofy!

Owen: I really liked the seals and sea lion. They were so hungry!!

Ethan: The polar bear looked hot and angry! He just paced as if he was hoping to walk to some place cold.

Owen: The giraffe was very majestic.

Ethan: Wow, what a big word for you! I liked our picnic too. Grandma and Grandpa made a great lunch. We got to stretch our legs a bit too.

Owen: I love walking!

Ethan: I love when you don't hit my head! It was so much fun to have Uncle Josh too! He is a good photographer and he is way better at pushing the stroller than mommy!

Okay, our conversations kept going but we won't fill you in with everything. Thank you for sharing your birthday with us Grandpa Dean! Hope you aren't too tired for your double header baseball game Uncle Josh!

Love you,

Ethan and Owen

Walking Solo

Owen decided yesterday would be a good day to start walking on his own. He is much braver about walking and enjoys the freedom!