Stay Classy

The rest

We didn't spend all of Poppi Ken & Mishka's visit at a farm, park, or zoo. Sometimes we just stayed home and watched the boys climb my dad.

Happy boys. Plenty of attention. People who are not burned out on their same favorite toys, books, and games over and over and over.

And then there was this. Mishka described it like being in one of those laughter yoga classes. The boys would laugh hysterically at us, and we'd all laugh back, progressively louder and louder. This went on for quite a while.

But all good things must come to an end, and we had to say goodbye.

Brady wouldn't give Poppi Ken a hug, which was obviously very upsetting.

Finally he relented, and all was well.

And that was that. Lovely, lovely that.

The definition of a grandparent...

...is someone who spoils their grandkids, sugars them up, gets them accustomed to 24/7 attention and activity, and then goes home. Right?

It is also someone who loves their grandkids so much, and is loved so fiercely in return, that it amazing to watch.

My dad just left after an 8 day whirlwind visit (his fiance Mishka joined us for 4 of those days), and I think the boys are still coming down. It was full-on grandparent party time.

We went to parks...

...and the boys took their first trip to Chuck E. Cheese's. Seriously, Brady's head almost popped off from excitement. Games! Rides! Tickets! Random plastic crap that he was SO EXCITED to take home and had forgotten about by the next morning!

We went to Arbor Day Farm for hiking and apple picking. There was the usual failed attempt at getting all four of us looking in the same direction for a family photo...

I like this kind better anyway.

We went to the Lincoln Zoo...

... and to Roca Berry Farm, where the boys met this strangely adorable bull.

I pushed Zack on the tricycle that was too big for him but he was determined to ride...

...and let Brady ride on my lap on the tricycle-thingy that was too big for him but he was determined to ride.

And we bounced.

All of us.

It was awesome.

We went on the hayrack ride, but were too hot and tired by that point to care enough to get off and pick pumpkins.

See? Brady has assumed the "hot, tired, and grumpy" disposition. Time to go!

We went to the Omaha Zoo...

...where Zack perfected his "cheese!" face.

We visited the Lincoln Children's Museum...

...where Brady's charm worked magic as always. It's amazing what a 3 year old can get a grandparent to do. How else do you explain this? :)

I have even more pictures to share, but I'm thinking your retinas are already bleeding at this point. More soon!

Thanks for everything, Poppi Ken and Mishka! We love you!

 

Thoughts...

We'll see how this goes. Both boys have been napping for about an hour and a half, and I'm caught up on the work I was hoping to do during naptime. This is the point when I start to blog, which immediately cues one or both of them to start crying. For the purposes of efficiency, I'll do this in bullet point form.

-Brady suddenly uses the word "apparently". As in "Apparently, that kid didn't want to listen to the teacher" when recounting the story of somebody in his preschool class not getting a stamp for the day (the horror!).

-Sometimes I worry that once Zack is old enough to start using the computer, he'll stumble across my blog and develop serious second-child syndrome. As in "why is every second of my brother's life documented?? How will I ever know what my fourth word was, the exact day I first peed in the potty, or what my sixth favorite food was?!?"

-Speaking of what Zack is saying, the answer is a whole lot. Well, I know that he's saying a whole lot-- to pretty much everyone else it's a lot of gobbeldy gook. I may have to write a Zack-to-English translation dictionary the next time he has a babysitter. How else is anybody but me supposed to know the difference between "Buh-buh!" and "Buh-BUOH!" (Bubba- meaning Brady, and bubble), that "Nuh-Wah!" means 'another one', or that "EE-OO" is "thank you"? Also, he calls me "Daddy" about half the time, and says "Down!" when he wants you to pick him up. 

-Aaaaand now there's crying. And now there's silence.... and now more crying. Better run!