Winnie the Scholar

Tyler and I had been working all day on the alphabet and were demonstrating for Tommy his ability to say new letters. You can read the rest of the conversation.

Jennifer and Tommy: "Tyler, you are so smart- you are the smartest boy in the world."
Tyler: "Un hu."
Jennifer: "Tyler, where do you get your smarts? From your Momma or Daddy?"
Tyler: "Pooh."

Belive It Or Not, Just A Typical Weekend

This weekend has already been packed full of, um, "adventures"...and it is still early Saturday! Tyler jump started the weekend by pitching my wallet in the toilet last night. As I ran into the bathroom upon hearing the splash, he slammed down the lid and ran out yelling ut-oh. Nice.

This morning was a little better. We took off to the park before it hit 120 degrees and realized we were about to witness a celebration, not just any celebration- a wedding! We were all dressed appropriately, especially Tyler- who at this point was donning a cowboy hat. We decided to meander to the opposite side of the park to give the future couple some peace, since Tyler could not contain his excitement upon spotting all of the balloons. We figured we would cut the wedding party a break and not make them hear "OHHHHH" over and over again in their home video.

The park trip ended with Tyler falling in the creek (this was on Tommy's watch- I was still sneaking pictures of the wedding on my camera and tearing up watching the bride walk down the sidewalk. One word: Hormones). Tyler was fine, just a tad muddy, and we still managed to get a few shots of him up in a tree before heading home. Hope your weekend is as eventful as ours!

Tyler after just emerging from the creek bed

Subtle Enough?

Looks Like A Duck, Walks Like A Duck...Not Necessarly A Duck

I am going to preface this story by saying two things. First- it is 100% true. Second- it might not be the most "PC" post ever logged. While I was attending a friends surprise birthday party this morning, Tommy took Tyler to Sams Club. As they were going down an isle, Tommy spotted a man in front of them that was errr, rather portly...and shorter in height. He was wearing a bright solid yellow shirt and black shorts. Tommy said you could tell that his hair was black, but he shaved it and it had about a weeks worth growth on top as well as his facial hair. So let me recap. Shorter overweight man with black hair/facial hair wearing fluorescent yellow top and black shorts. Can you picture it?

About the time Tommy spotted the man, Tyler saw him as well and pointed and as loud as he could, yelled ,"Bee! Bee!" It took Tommy about 3 seconds to realize that Tyler thought the man was a big bumblebee, and to Tommy's disadvantage- he was too tickled to gather Tyler up and hurry out of the isle (Tommy cannot be blamed for having a sense of humor). It is just rather awkward that the man did not have one as well. Tommy said the man approached them trying to figure out why Tyler was pointing and yelling at him only to look down at his wardrobe choice and realized for himself what Tyler was saying. Needless to say, the guy flew out of the store... no pun intended.

Reunited (And It Feels So Good)

This past weekend we headed to Nashville to visit Tommy's parents. The visit was great, although HOT. I thought it was hot here in Knoxville....not anything compared to Middle Tennessee. Nashville has not had rain in months and it was in the 100's every day. The air was hard to breath, so short of putting an inflatable pool on the porch in the evenings- we mainly kept our visiting to indoors.

On Monday, we went into Franklin and spent a few hours catching up with some of our good friends that we used to live across the street from in Spring Hill. Although we stay in touch via phone, we had not seen them in over a year! And how everyone had grown...

We had a wonderful visit and miss you terribly Brooks, Chris, Gavin, and Taylor Marie- the next visit will not be far away.

Forget The Yard, Water ME!

These days, when someone in our family threatens to turn the hose on you, that is a good thing. The days are indescribably hot, and for the first time ever- I did not see any mosquitoes tonight when I went out to capture this picture- it's even too hot for mosquitoes! Tyler knows to take advantage of opportunities to stay cool when he sees his Daddy watering the plants.

The East Tennessee "Rain Dance"

ET Write Home

That's right, no phone. So, I would not
necessarily call today one of Tyler's best
behavioral days in history. The day started with Tyler waking up at 7:30 am crying, always a good start to the day. Mid morning, my friend Shannon came over to visit and say farewell (she just took a job at a college in North Carolina and is leaving this week). Apparently, the visit wasn't lending itself to paying enough attention to Tyler. As we were in the kitchen and I noticed that I had not heard a peep from Tyler in about 45 seconds I took off running. Now in my house, silence is not a great thing. In 99.9% of the time, it does not mean that Tyler is quietly working a puzzle in the corner, but rather getting into something he knows he shouldn't. As we ran into the living room followed by the echos of Tyler yelling "ut-oh", I find a huge glass of water that I had been drinking out of with our home phone floating at the top. Only when Tyler was already headed to time out did Shannon ask, "Where is my cell phone?" Well, that would be at the bottom of the glass. Two phones ruined within about 30 seconds. So now we are down to our cell phones until Tommy braves Walmart to buy a new one.

How long are you allowed to leave a 2 year old in time out before it becomes counterproductive?

Three Generations Of Lawn Boys

Fast forward 27 years....

Lazy Hazy Summer

Today was one of those days that took every bit of energy I had not to stay inside all day. It was sticky hot and muggy by 10:00 this morning. Tyler and I started the day by taking Tommy to work, the AAU Olympics are taking place on Knoxville campus this week and parking is crazy. On the way back, since Tyler loves to point out the suns sphere (aka big gold ball)- we decided to park down town and walk over and take a tour. On the way back we stopped at the water park and Tyler played in the fountains for about 20 minutes (which was long enough). After feeling like we were close to getting overheated, we headed home and both took naps. Unexpectedly, when we woke up it started to pour rain- which is not in the forecast all week.

The picture captures how productive we have been since waking up from our nap. Tyler is perfectly content lounging on the couch with snack, drink, and blue bear in hand.