A Peek at Our Week

Well, we've blown through yet another week, and I'm just now getting the chance to load and sort through the pictures I snapped along the way. I'll try my best to let them (mostly) tell the story of our comings and goings...

Tuesday Meaghan invited Amy and me and our little ones over to their house for a morning playdate. After hanging in the basement for a while, we came upstairs to play with the Xbox Kinect.

Tav wasn't sure about the whole video game scene.

My favorite odd couple.

Waiting to start their game.

I freaking love our kids.

Maloney Baloney had a front row seat to the action.

That night while Daddy was at the Lumineers concert, the boys and I had some fun with flashlights before bed.

Creeeeeeeeepy.

This girl was spooked!

Wednesday while Kaiser was in school, I decided to brave the salon to get Porter a much-needed haircut. He flipped his lid last time a stylist came at him with scissors, but I'm happy to say that he was much more cooperative this go-round. (Of course, bribery was offered in the form of a lollipop and pretzels.)

"Hmmm...I like it, I like it."

That night, Daddy had to take his car to Sears for state inspections, so we met up for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory while he waited for it.

Look at that clean-cut kid!

Handsome (& hungry) menfolk.

Thursday we had planned a fun playdate at the Children's Museum with Amy, Tavin, and Penn. We were there about an hour and a half, and spent all of that time at just a handful of activities on the first floor. 

Hard at work building a house.

These 3 must have raced through the rainbow tunnel over a dozen times!

Running back to the tunnel entrance.

Just hangin' around.

Bjornin' babes Penn and Malone get some face time.

(Thanks for the pic, Am!)

That evening after dinner, the girls played together on the living room floor...

"Psssst! I've got a secret, Mommy."

...while the guys took a Valentine's Day-inspired bath.

The strawberry scent was very manly. :)

Friday morning while Kaiser was at school, Porter, Malone, and I ran an errand, then came back home to hang out.

 Introducing Sissy to a new toy.

He's a good teacher.

"I think I got this..."

We all look forward to Friday nights, and even though the boys earned early bedtimes when they chose not to nap that afternoon, they still got in some fun rough-housing time with Daddy.

Can you hear the ear-piercing screech?

Aspiring members of Cirque du Soleil.

Trains are exciting, People!

 This exersaucer is tame compared to the chaos surrounding her.

And that just about catches us up. We've had a low-key Saturday, full of morning errands, afternoon naps, and evening playtime, and are looking forward to a nice Sunday with Brett at home once again. Hope you've had a fabulous week, as well!

Braly Boy Q & A

Way back when, I conducted an interview with our firstborn, then just 2 1/2 years old. I had intentions of asking him these questions again, but honestly forgot all about it until something triggered my memory just a few days ago. This time around, I was lucky enough to interview two little dudes. First up was Kaiser.

Pardon me -- I mean Captain America.

What is your name? Kaiser Justin Braly

How old are you? Four

What is your favorite color? Green and blue and orange

Who is your best friend? Koen and Max (Imaginary buddies totally count.)

What is your favorite animal? A tiger and a lion

What do you want to be when you grow up? A firefighter and a race car and a transformer (He's gonna be a busy guy.)

What is your favorite movie? Monsters, Inc. and Toy Story and Cars

What is your favorite book? Arthur and Franklin (Hard to narrow down, there are so many great ones in the series.)

What makes you happy? Going outside in the backyard.

What makes you sad? Taking away toys.

What is your favorite food to eat? Seems like it's just every single food. (Yes, that is a direct quote from our "I-will-happily-eat-absolutely-anything-you-put-in-front-of-me" child.)

What is your favorite song to sing? The ABCs (Followed by giggles, as this is definitely not his favorite song.)

What games do you like to play? Hi Ho Cherry-O and Candyland

Next it was Porter's turn. It's been hard getting this stinker to smile for the camera lately, so instead...

...I get him to ROAR! :)

What is your name? Poh-tah

How old are you? Two

What is your favorite color? Umm, bwack...and puh-ple

Who is your best friend? Thomas (That would be the Train, Folks. In case you didn't know, he's kind of a big deal.)

What is your favorite animal? Zee-bwah. Where is da zoo?

What do you want to be when you grow up? Doc-tah

What is your favorite movie? Thomas (Any of his shows will do.)

What is your favorite book? Da Littuh Engine Could. I'm-a weed a book.

What makes you happy? My teef (Pretty sure he gave this answer because I was flashing a cheesy smile in an effort to emphasize "happy".)

What makes you sad? Cying

What is your favorite food to eat? Cah-cahs for sack.

What is your favorite song to sing? "Oh How He Yoves Us." I gonna sing "Oh How He Yoves Us" on the pino. (Walks to piano and starts playing.)

What games do you like to play? Supah hee-woes

A few surprised me, but on the whole I love the glimpse these answers offer into their 2-year-old and 4-year-old selves. Still can't get over how blessed I am to be Mommy to this Dynamic Duo. I love them SO BIG!!!

On a Roll (Sorta)

Malone loves to sleep on her belly, but when awake tolerates tummy time for only so long before throwing in the towel. She has been toying with the idea of rolling from tummy to back for a while now; her primary obstacle in accomplishing this task has been the "Superbaby" position she typically assumes -- arms down at her sides, back arched, head up. 

"You want me to do what?"

This past Friday evening, Sister was logging some time on her tum-tum on the living room floor, and it was looking like more of the same...

"Hey, at least I'm getting an ab workout."

"A little help here??"

Encouraging kisses from Daddy.

Hold the phone...

...could this be it?!?

Mission accomplished!

If you'd like to see our girl in action, here are a couple of short clips of her practicing her new trick (with cheerleaders Mommy and Daddy making a big to-do, of course). In the second video, Maloney Baloney has a little somethin' to say after she turns to face the camera.

No flipping in this one -- just a bunch of sweet jibber jabber from our tiniest, trying to make herself heard!

  

Now, she still I wouldn't say she's mastered the roll just yet (and I definitely don't see barrel rollin' happening for a while), but Maloney Baloney is pretty proud of herself for reaching this new milestone!

"I'd pat myself on the back if I could..."

Braly/Edwards Family Fun Night

Did anyone else's January disappear like that?? I suddenly realized that it had been a full three weeks since we last saw the Edwardses, and the Bralys were beginning to experience symptoms of withdrawal. :) Meaghan and I decided a family date was in order. She invited us to come over to their house on Saturday once the kiddos woke up from their naps. Brett and I were a little nervous driving out there, as it had been snowing all afternoon and the roads weren't looking too friendly. It took a neighbor plowing their long, uphill driveway for our van to get to their front door, but we made it safely. The nine of us had a low-key evening -- eating pizza, salad, and chocolate (of course), catching up on life, playing with babies on the floor, and running wild like little boys do. Here are some snaps of our night with our bests:

Uh-oh, Dude's on the move!

Thankfully, this girl still stays put.

"We need one of these cool seats at our house!"

 Someday she'll know how blessed she is to have him as her biggest bro.

 Charlie entertaining the crowd before he hits the hay.

Revved-up race cars.

These two...

 "So Austin, how is all of this going to play out? Do you and I end up together, or do I go for your baby brother?"

 Boys will be boys.

 Timeout for some snuggles with Daddy.

Laying on the kitchen floor with the Bible. Standard.

"I do love you, Miss Meaghan, but I'm hungry!"

After a while, it was clearly time for the Braly babies to go to bed, so we headed out around 8:00. On the way home, I got pretty emotional at the thought of saying goodbye (again) to our incredible friends in just a few months. Not ready to fully accept that reality -- not yet!