Mommy's Biggest Fan?

So, I have to start by admitting -- with only slight embarrassment -- that I am totally one of those people who spontaneously bursts out into song, and sometimes dance, on a regular basis. (Anyone else like to pretend they're on Glee?) Okay, maybe I should clarify that I really only do this around Kaiser, Porter, and Brett. Lucky men they are. Sometimes my random "performances" are kids' songs, and sometimes they're about the farthest thing from it. Often I take a familiar song and change the lyrics to fit whatever mundane thing we're currently doing, but sometimes the song literally comes out of nowhere, and has no connection whatsoever to anything that is currently going on. I would like to at least tell you that I have a smidgen of musical talent and sound good when I belt out a tune, but alas, I do not. Again -- my guys are so lucky.

At lunchtime today, Kaiser and Porter were subjected to my very off-Broadway renditions of "Popular" and "Defying Gravity" from Wicked. (A tad obsessed after seeing it a couple of weeks ago, and receiving the soundtrack from my friend Kacia is only feeding said obsession!) Clearly I can't compete with Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, but I must say, the boys tolerated me quite well. :) Then during our dinner tonight, I walked over to the sink for a moment, and when I turned around, one of those "out of nowhere, not-at-all kid-friendly" tunes came out of my mouth. (Seriously, when you hear it, please know that I'm as baffled as you are!) What took me by surprise in a good way, and made me decide to pull out a camera and keep singing, though, was Porter's hilarious reaction. I tell ya, this child of ours absolutely kills me. I can't get enough of him!

Now that I've watched this video a few times, I'm wondering whether all that head-shaking could be interpreted as "no no no", like he wants me to stop? Can't say I'd blame the kid. But until he's able to tell me otherwise, I'm just going to assume Porter Knight's my biggest fan, and keep on belting out those (hopefully more appropriate) songs for him and his brother. :)

Rub-a-Dub-Dub, Two Boys in a Tub...

...of beans and pasta, that is.

This morning we were homebound and getting bored, so I offered to pull out Kaiser's "construction site" for some digging and dumping and whatnot. When Porter woke up from his nap, he joined the fun, and it wasn't long before the temptation to climb on into the tub was just too much for him.

So, of course, Big Brother "bathed" with him.

 Still trying to teach this kid how to clap his hands!

 Ready to bail out?

Nah, having too much fun!

Love Kaiser's pained expression.

Let me tell you, filling this unused baby bathtub with dry beans and pasta was one of the best mommy moves I've made yet. (Huge shout-out to my cousin Mel for the awesome idea!) My boys spent close to an hour playing in it today, and I couldn't even guess how many other times the "site" has been my saving grace, keeping them happily occupied while I finish up a chore around the house. Yes, there's inevitably a bean (or fifty) on the floor that we have to clean up afterward, but in my opinion, it's well worth it!

Celebrity Sighting!

So, those of you who follow our blog have probably read a little a lot about Mark, Meaghan, and Austin Edwards, our bests who own a family chocolate business in Pittsburgh and Washington, DC. Kaiser and I got to take a tour of their factory last year, and the Milk Shake Factory in South Side is easily one of our favorite places in the city. (What can I say? I'm a sucker for their dark chocolate coconut bark, vanilla salted caramels, the absolute deliciousness that is the "piece of cake" shake...heck, I love it all!)

Well, apparently we're not the only ones who think the Milk Shake Factory is kind of a big deal. Can you guess which famous folks paid a visit this past weekend?

That, Friends, is none other than the Cruise clan! Tom is in town until the end of the year filming his latest movie, One Shot, and he, Katie, and Suri stopped in to the sweet shop to satisfy their sweet teeth on Saturday evening. (You can read more about what they reportedly ordered on Life & Style online.) Unfortunately, we weren't there to gawk; this photo, taken by another customer, was found here.

Anyway, I just thought this was too cool and had to share. How exciting for the Edwards family! And who knows? Maybe the Bralys in the Burgh will cross paths with TomKat sometime within the next few months... :)

Weekend Wrap-Up

Well, yet another fun weekend came and went far too quickly for the Bralys. Here are the highlights:

Like I said, Friday night we left the boys in our sweet babysitter's capable hands and had ourselves a date night! First up was dinner downtown. We didn't have reservations anywhere, and I was a tad nervous that would pose a problem. Brett and I were pleasantly surprised, however, when we walked into Seviche and were able to get a table within a few minutes! We've been wanting to try out this tapas bar, recommended by several friends, for some time now, and it was a winner in our books. We enjoyed the food, the atmosphere, and the serving style, which was perfect considering we needed to dine relatively quickly before heading to our next stop.

"Fire and Ice" -- delicioso!

After finishing up at the restaurant, we made the trek to the Consol Energy Center to see the Foo Fighters. About a month ago, I had "surprised" Brett with tickets for his 30th birthday. (And by "surprised", I mean I said: "Baby, I want to get you Foo Fighters tickets for your birthday! But, since you know better how to get the best seats for our money, do you mind helping me buy them?") Anyway, my hubby's become quite the fan, and though I'm not familiar with their music, I do know a handful of their more popular songs. 

Ready to rock!

The concert's official start time was at 7pm, but with opening bands, setup, etc., it was close to 9:30 before they took the stage.

Frontman Dave Grohl.

All of the Fighters of Foo. :)

Brett loved the show, and I had tons of fun, too. They played lots of their newer stuff that I didn't know (aside from hearing Brett play them on the guitar), but also some of the ones I could definitely sing along to, like "Hero": 

We knew going into the night that the FF's performance would be a long one, and this was confirmed by Grohl, who early in the night said that they weren't "one of those bands that only played for 2 hours and 15 minutes" and would stop when the audience was ready to go home. They ended up playing 25 songs, including a 6-song encore which we missed when we cut out early. Because, even though we like to think we're young and hip, we've got a job and babies that get us up early, and Mommy and Daddy need decent rest to function throughout the day. All in all, a fantastic night together, though!

Brett scored tickets to the Pitt/Notre Dame football game on Saturday through the ortho department, and he thought it would be a fun father-son outing for him and Kaiser. The game started at noon, and they headed downtown before 11:00 to make sure they had plenty of time to get to the stadium. 

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL??

Pretty sure those #1 fingers are for the Sooners, not the Panthers.

Porter wanted to go with Daddy and Big Brother, but I told him I needed him to stay home with me and make some chicken enchiladas for dinner that night. He only pouted a little, and then set to work helping in the kitchen.

"What size dish do we need, Mommy?"

Over the next couple hours, I periodically received texts with pictures of the fun my guys were having at Heinz Field. It makes me so happy to see them making special memories like this together! 

"You can see everything, Daddy!"

Not exactly the best seats, but he didn't mind!

Keeping his eye on the action. :)

Unfortunately, Pitt didn't play all that well, and ended up losing to the Fightin' Irish. Brett and Kaiser left early and made it home around 3:00. After Mommy got a full run-down of their fun experience -- including walking down by the river, splashing his hands in a fountain, spotting a blimp, and seeing the Pitt Panther -- it was finally time for Kaiser to lay down for a nap. I told him that he had to get some rest for that evening, because our friends were coming over to eat dinner with us. That motivation, along with the fact that he was plum tuckered out from his big morning with Daddy, led to him passing out cold and having to be woken up at 5:30, when Joe and Kassi arrived. It had been way, way too long since we've hung out with this awesome couple (with whom we've shared 2 of 3 Thanksgivings in Pittsburgh), so we of course had a blast catching up on life! Kaiser and Porter also enjoyed our time with "da fwiends". We sure do love these two!

Mr. Joe is quite good at playing trucks.

Hot Mess here was a handful.

Sunday my three boys did some roughhousing on Mommy and Daddy's bed after breakfast. 

Sitting in a "cage" he'd built with pillows.

"I'm spent!"

We all got dressed and ready to go to church at 11:00, but little did we know our plans would be thwarted. :( We were driving toward Oakland, running only a few minutes late for service, when we hit a wall of traffic downtown. Turns out they decided to close the highway, without any signs or other warnings! By the time we sat behind a line of cars, finally made it through the Liberty tunnel, turned around, and saw that the other exit we'd need to take was also shut down, we figured that best case scenario was we'd catch the last 15-20 minutes of church. So, we instead decided to drive to Cranberry, where we grabbed some lunch at Panera Bread.

Serious.

Not so serious.

Our main purpose in going north was to stop by Babies R Us to look at convertible car seats for Porter. Though we didn't buy one, I did find a Halloween costume for Kaiser, so it was a productive trip. That evening when the boys awoke from their naps, they played for a while in the garage (which Daddy has been working hard to get tidied up). 

Tractor-riding in his underpants. Now that's a real farmer.

Watching Big Bro from the wagon.

Porter's turn for a spin!

After dinner, we hung out in the backyard. We'll savor each of these lovely fall evenings before it gets too cold!

"There's not room for both of us on this slide."

"Step...and swing!"

Just examining the leaves.

After time in the garage and the grass, baths were definitely needed for these Bralys:

Blowing bubbles! (Or trying, at least.)

Someone's distraught that the bubble bath is over.

Aaaaaaand, I think that about sums it up, Folks. Brett and I sat down to watch the Steelers play the Colts last night (well, he was watching, and I was balancing our checkbook/loading pictures/blogging on the computadora), but I passed out shortly after 9pm and had to be drug to bed by him at 10. I guess I was a bit more tired than I thought. :) I've got to get motivated to accomplish a lot this week; can't believe we're just a few days away from OCTOBER!

"Never Had One Lesson."

Last Friday, after he got home from school, I was able to convince Kaiser to sit at the piano and play a couple of songs for me. He's always loved to pound on tickle the ivories, but lately he's been more into singing and playing simultaneously. Here are his impressive renditions of "Jesus Loves Me" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". Hard to believe he's never had professional lessons, isn't it? :)

I emailed this video to Kaiser's great-uncle, who is a talented pianist, to give him a look at his new protege. Unfortunately, he was unable to open my attachment; I'm hoping posting it here on the blog will do the trick.

Soooooo...

Uncle Charles, what do you think? Does this kid have promise or what? :)

Where Did Our Week Go?

It's been a little longer than normal since I've last checked in, so I thought I'd better go ahead and do a quick recap of our week -- you know, before certain unnamed grandparents start to suffer from serious withdrawal after not seeing their grandsons' faces in five days. :)

Monday was Daddy's birthday, and while he was working hard at the hospital, the boys and I did a few things to get ready for our simple family celebration that night. During Porter's morning nap, I enlisted Kaiser's help in making a birthday "cake". 

My pot-stirrer.

 Sampling some of the sweetness.

Now, you may be wondering what kind of "cake" involves melting marshmallows. Several weeks ago, Brett and I were having a conversation about Rice Krispies treats, and he said he wanted to try them made with Fruity Pebbles instead. You got it, Birthday Boy!

Our colorful creation!

We didn't go crazy by any means, but we thought Daddy's 30th at least warranted some balloons, streamers, and signs.

 He's full of hot air.

 Balloon = Half an hour of entertainment for this one.

 We might have gotten a bit distracted.

 Simple setup.

Oh, and we also practiced our "birthday rap". As you can see, Kaiser was a little more interested in eating his lunch than rapping along with me. :)

After a long day of operating, Daddy finally called to say that he was on his way home. He was greeted by a sign, more streamers, and most importantly, a son shouting, "HEY DADDY, WE GOT A BUWT-DAY CAKE FOE YOU!" (The "Go Daddy, it's your birthday" business was forgotten in light of the fact that treats were to be had!) After eating dinner and opening his cards and present from us (a special golf contraption to help him practice his putting), it was, at long last, time!

 A big hit for both of these kids.

Some family playtime before baths and bed.

Tuesday we were excited to start up our fall session of Music Together! It had been several weeks since we'd seen Ms. Karen, and boy, had we missed her! Because of Kaiser's school schedule, we had to switch to a different location north of us in order to keep her as our teacher. Well worth it! We're very much looking forward to the next ten weeks. (One of these times I'm going to have to finally get a pic of Karen with the boys, seeing as she's been such a big part of our lives for the past two years!) After music class, the boys and I did some serious errand-running, none of which was really picture-worthy. That evening the weather was lovely, so we ventured out on another family walk around the neighborhood. Kaiser had high hopes of seeing Stormy the Horse up close again; unfortunately, he was busy hanging out on the far side of his field, so we had to be satisfied with waving hello from a distance.

Porter in his chariot.

Wednesday morning meant Day #3 of school for Kaiser! Before we went downstairs for breakfast, he asked for help climbing into Baby Brother's bed so they could play together. Of course, I had no trouble fulfilling that request.

 Teaching him to clap his hands.

 All dressed and ready to see his teacher and friends!

While Kaiser was at school, I called our pediatrician's nurse line to ask for their advice about Porter. He has been battling a nasty cough and congestion for going on three weeks, and I just couldn't keep saying, "He'll eventually beat it" any longer. When I described his situation to the nurse, she thought we should come on in that day. She had a 1:45 appointment available, and I booked it. It just so happened that Brett had an early day at work, so he was able to come home to stay with Kaiser during naptime while I took in the sickling. One good thing about our visit was that it doubled as a weight check. (I had one scheduled for next week, anyway). I was excited to learn that Porter now weighs in at 19 pounds (7th %ile) and is 28 inches long (10th %ile)!

Drinking to the good news!

 The snottiness and cough can't crush his spirit.

Reading his dino book while we wait to be seen.

I knew there was a chance that Kathy might say there was nothing we could do for him besides wait it out, but felt that it was worth seeing if it was anything more serious. She checked his lungs (clear) and ears (perfect). But ultimately, she agreed that his symptoms had persisted too long, and she prescribed him amoxicillin. Needless to say, I was pleased to have an answer and hopefully a weapon to kick this yuckiness for good -- especially because our trip to Oklahoma is right around the corner!

Thursday we didn't have any pressing daytime plans. That morning while Porter was resting, Kaiser and I worked together to make up a snack for his class, which he was responsible for bringing in on Friday. He enjoyed measuring out the Teddy Grahams, Cheerios, raisins, and peanuts (and of course testing to make sure everything tasted good).

 He makes a mean trail mix.

The three of us ended up heading to Waterworks to make a return at Old Navy and to look for a step stool at TJ Maxx. Of course, Mommy found a couple of other items to try on while we were there.

 Workin' some way-too-big jeans in the dressing room.

 Lately he's been asking if he can ride Berkeley like a horse.
She won't go for it, but this dog didn't seem to mind.

Clothes shopping can be super boring. Chewing on a straw can help.

No pictures from last night, but Brett and I were excited to host our small group since the Melders are out of town. Kaiser was in full form entertaining "his fwiends", and threw a hissy fit when the clock struck bedtime. A reminder that waking Baby Harlow, who was sleeping in Mommy and Daddy's room next door, would result in "big trouble" was enough to quiet him down and help him fall asleep. We had a great time visiting with everyone, and look forward to holding group at our place again next Thursday.

Thank goodness it's Friday! This big boy was all smiles when I suggested that he wear his brand new "excagator" shirt to school this morning. (Thank you, Kohl's, for regularly sending me $10 off any purchase coupons!)

 "Day #4: Let's do this!"

"Check out dis sweet twuck."

 Now that's a smile.

It's a crummy day here in the Burgh, so after picking Kaiser up from school I decided we'd just head home to eat lunch and play. I am pretty sure that Porter is one of the most animated (and messiest) eaters in the history of Babeland. Here are a couple of his many mealtime faces:

 These random outbursts are the norm.

Stinkbug.

Raise the roof!

Tonight Miss Megan is coming over once again to babysit the boys while Brett and I go out to dinner and to the Foo Fighters concert. Hooray for another date night! Kaiser and Porter are looking forward to fun with a fresh face, and Mommy and Daddy are looking forward to good food, music, and conversation that doesn't have to do with trucks, trains, or bodily functions. (Well, hopefully at least most of our conversation won't be about that.) We're ready to get this weekend started off right!