March 2007 kid pics

Well, take a good look at the only pictures we have of the kids so far this year. No, we haven't been negligent in our efforts to capture our darlings' developmental milestones, on the contrary, I had taken roughly 250 pictures (I know because the camera told me the memory card was full) the day the camera, that memory card and one other memory card was stolen while we were at the park a couple weeks ago! (insert lots of swear words here). We had noticed a couple little kids playing in the skate park next to the camera bag...but they were kids...and we were in Greybull, WY (pop. 1800) afterall. Crime doesn't happen here, right? Wrong. But, to give the little klepto's a some wiggle room, we have to take some of the blame for leaving the camera bag out in the open. We set the bag down and walked over the dike to throw a couple rocks in the river and when we came back (5 minutes, tops!) the camera bag had been opened and rifled through. I'm not sure why they didn't take the whole thing, but they left the bag, with my cell phone in it, and took the camera and memory cards. hmmm. We called the police, and I hunted down the roughians (1 boy and 1 girl) that I thought stole the camera. I found the little boy crouched down on the floorboard of a Jeep, of course he denied knowing anything about a camera, but pointed the finger at some other boys. By that time the police had shown up and the boys mother...we didn't get anywhere. And even after offering a reward in the paper that week, we still haven't heard anything. The camera is gone, but what I'm really sad about is all those pictures we lost... The following pictures came out of Nathan's work camera.

Chase got this tractor for his birthday last November. He's getting really good at steering it. Jonah is pretty good at stepping on the gas pedal, but hasn't figured out the steering wheel concept. The only problem with the tractor is that the traction sucks on it. It spins its wheels, even in the grass. We have to figure out a way to "Tool Time" it somehow. Give it more power or more traction or something! It pales in comparison to the real thing, however. They'd much rather talk their Daddy into getting out the riding lawnmower, or go to Papa's for a 4-wheeler ride or better yet, on a real-live tractor! Last night we went to a 'Welcome Home' bonfire for 2 guys that just got home from Iraq. There was a fire engine there with its lights flashing and it was pretty awesome for a couple little boys.

Chase is growing up so fast. We're seeing more and more evidence that those "Terrible Two's" are behind us (at least for Chase). His imagination is growing and developing all the time and it's so fun to watch what he comes up with. He still loves, loves, loves those dino's. So we get to pretend to be certain dino's. Tonight he assigned me to be a Stegasaurus, Jonah was a Spinosaurus, Nathan was Daddy T-Rex and Chase was a Ceolophysus. We walked around the yard and ate grass and trees. Then it was dinner-time for real and he wouldn't believe us when we tried to tell him that Ceolophysus's eat casserole. He would accept that Ceolophysus's might eat hotdogs, so that's what he had...again. He loves that nasty faux-food-product. What is it with kids?

Jonah is getting pretty good with his words. He'll try to repeat anything you ask him to. He got his big-boy bed a couple days ago. He had been sleeping on a mattress on the floor because he was climbing (and falling) out of his crib. We decided it was time to get a twin bed for him. He looks so small in it, though. He's still so little! At his 18-month well-baby checkup he weighed in in the 12th percentile for height and weight, and the 60th percentile for head circumference. No, they didn't measure his cheeks! That probably would've put him in the 90th percentile! He wakes up at night alot and I'm trying to figure out what to do about it. I don't want him to be scared of something and me not come and comfort him. I know it's probably just a phase and it won't last long, so I'm not terribly worried about it. And he's so hard to resist! It's hard to discipline him because it devestates him when you do, and he has an incredibly sweet face...makes you want to kiss him all the time!

Chase and Jonah playing on the sidewalk in front of our house. They were picking up bricks and throwing them on the concrete. What you can't see is that our house (and a bay window) is about 3 feet to the right of the picture. Made me nervous and they had to quit their antics as soon as I saw what they were up to. Mean ol' mom!

Chase's passion is dino's. Jonah's is balls. He loves them and can spot them wherever he goes. And, "Hoops." He likes to practice his hoops. He has a baby basketball hoop in the house and a larger one in the back yard and balls all over the place. We chuckle about which kid has what interest. The tall, athletic looking one loves extinct, prehistoric animals (and is great at recognizing and assigning their proper names), while the stubby-statured one has an interest in something that is usually saved for the less vertically challenged. Oh, well. You try to cater to their interests and never dash their dreams...